DVB-T2 reaches 2.2 million households in Germany

The German DVB-T2/HEVC platform reaches 2.2 million households following the launch of the next-generation DTT service on March 29, 2017. 1.7 million households have opted for reception devices suitable for the encrypted commercial TV channel package Freenet TV. Further 500,000 to 600,000 households receive only the unencrypted, mainly public TV channels. That’s the result of a survey market research institute Kantar TNS conducted among around 2,400 consumers from April 13-22, 2017 on behalf of Freenet TV platform operator Media Broadcast. “The customer feedback after just four weeks is incredibly positive and encouraging, and the figures of our current survey confirm that we have accomplished a successful launch,” said Kerstin Köder, head of Freenet TV at Media Broadcast. “The few reception difficulties could be resolved quickly.” The customers are particularly excited about the first-class picture quality and the good cost-benefit ratio, according to the survey. The majority already said that they want to continue using Freenet TV after the expiration of the free-of-charge period. From July 1, 2017, reception costs €5.75 per month. While just 18% of the users of the predecessor system DVB-T turned their back on terrestrial television, more than 400,000 households changed from other TV reception infrastructures to DVB-T2 and Freenet TV. 9% have not done anything yet, but plan to move to the new DTT standard in the next weeks. Further growth potential for DVB-T2 and Freenet TV lies in the around 1.4 million households who are still undecided or live in regions in which the terrestrial TV coverage will be converted from DVB-T to DVB-T2 in the next months.